with MANY feelings!
I wonder where to begin with my thoughts??
I have two sisters......it has always been: CONNIE, BARB & KAY! for as long as I can remember....
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| Connie, Barb, Kay & Mother |
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| Connie, Barb & Kay |
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| Connie, Barb & Kay |
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| Connie, Barb & Kay |
My older sister, Connie had been battling cancer for about 18 months. The cancer drug she was on was shrinking the tumors or eliminating some of them completely. Then one day the first of March we found out that the cancer had gone to her brain. She had brain surgery and had her ups and downs with recovery. It just continued to go down hill from that time and on May 7, 2012 with her family surrounding her she passed to the other side of the veil.
I am a grown woman, a mother, a grandmother but the triangle was now gone.....I felt the emptness of the missing link!
it was no longer Connie, Barb & Kay......Of course there was a sadness within me because she was no longer with us! I also know the Plan of Salvation and where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going after we leave the earth.
It is amazing to me though how much Heavenly Father loves us, how much He comforts us and how He lets us know of that love. I arrived in Galesburg on Friday, May 4th. I was able to talk to Connie but she was not conscious nor communicated back with me.
Connie was on the 3rd floor of the hospital and when you looked out her window all you could see was another building..It felt like you could reach out and touch the other building but of course you could not yet, they were close. I remember over the weekend sitting in her room and TWICE seeing a butterfly outside her window fluttering around. Others saw it and we all commented on it......
I thought it was strange as that butterfly seemed out of place outside a third floor window with two large brick buildings close by. The first time it was strange but "oh well," the second time was amazing to me.
I was asked to do the eulogy at the cemetery. As I stood in front of the people to do the eulogy, .... you guessed it, a butterfly fluttered into the tent and many made note of it......
What do I think about this??....I think it was the "tender mercies" of our Savior Jesus Christ......
I decided to look up what the symbol of the butterfly is and it said:
The butterfly has long been a Christian symbol of resurrection, for it disappears into a cocoon and appears dead, but emerges later far more beautiful and powerful than before.
As a symbol of Christ's resurrection after three days in the grave, the butterfly is seen especially around Easter. But the butterfly is also a symbol of every Christian's hope of resurrection from the dead.
Yes, I think that butterfly came three times to remind us of the fact that Connie is no longer with us but she is alive and well, she has just crossed over to the other side and is busy "working" as she did here!
I am so humbly grateful for my Savior and for the resurrection and for the sacrifice He made for each of us to have this opportunity. I am grateful to know that I am linked eternally to Connie and this separation is just a short time.....
There are other thoughts as I think of our lives here upon this earth. I have many memories of growing up and having my two sisters and the experiences we shared together.
We each moved forward in our lives as adults...... each leaving a mark in our own corner of the world..
Connie married Marc Dennis and from that union they had two children, Shelby and Tony......
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| Connie, Mother & Shelby |
We grew up, we married, we had children and now our children are parents and they are raising their children and it truly is a "royal generation"..... We sit in our corner of the world trying to make our way through life and when we look back we can see the strength, the goodness, the mark we truly have made upon this world.........
We may feel small and insignificiet but when we look at it through the eternal perspective we are doing many great and mighty things. I am so thankful for Connie's life. Her children love and value her. I watched Shelby give unconditional love to her mother. She served her, took care of her, nurtured her and loved her throughout her life but especially the last 18 months. I watched Shelby's husband and her children support her in this cause as they helped Shelby so that she could be there for her mother. I have a lot more thoughts of this in my heart but it is hard to put into words.
I am so humbly grateful for my life......for the eight children I have upon this earth and the two children on the other side of the veil. I am thankful for each of them and how they are raising their children. I had the opportunity to be at James house two weeks ago. I watched my two grandchildren perform in the Fine Arts Festival and then Braden pass the sacrament at church, Meghan being honored for her attendance at Seminary. I felt so humble realizing that my children are now raising righteous children who in turn will one day take the place in this world to raise their children. The link is LONG and the link is STRONG and I have the knowledge that:
EIGHT 'plus' is enough to FILL my HEART with LOVE!
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